SWIFT to bring benefits of gpi to DLT and trade ecosystems

To support the growing demand amongst trade ecosystems for secure and reliable settlement, SWIFT has launched a proof of concept (PoC) to trial a new gateway to interlink trade and e-commerce platforms with – the new standard in cross-border payments.

Introducing gpi Link

The gateway will also allow the continuous monitoring and control of payment flows and the subsequent movement of goods by those trade platforms.

And to ensure global integration and interoperability, it will support APIs, as well as SWIFT and ISO standards.

Trade transactions powered by gpi

The first stage of the PoC will work on ’s leading blockchain platform, Corda, to bring the benefits of gpi payments - speed, ubiquity and certainty - to distributed ledger technology (DLT)-enabled trade.

The PoC addresses the need for e-commerce and trade ecosystems to be supported by global, fast, secure and transparent settlement using fiat currencies by enabling ‘off-ledger’ payment settlement based on gpi.

While the PoC initially addresses ’s DLT-based trade environment, it will be extended to support other DLT, non-DLT and e-commerce trade platforms.

The results of the PoC will be demonstrated as a prototype at Sibos in London in September 2019.

Extending the benefits of gpi

Thanks to gpi, over $300 billion in daily cross-border payments are now typically made within minutes or even seconds, with over 50 per cent of SWIFT gpi payments credited to end beneficiaries within 30 minutes.

By enabling trade platform ecosystems to seamlessly integrate gpi Link into their environments, the benefits of gpi are now able to be extended to a wider range of corporates and markets.

All trade platforms require tight linkages with trusted, fast and secure cross-border payments mechanisms such as gpi. While DLT-enabled trade is taking off, there is still little appetite for settlement in crypto-currencies and a pressing need for fast and safe settlement in fiat currencies.

Luc Meurant, SWIFT’s Chief Marketing Officer

“With the gpi Link, banks will be able to provide rapid, transparent settlement services to e-commerce and trading platforms, opening up whole new ecosystems to the speed, security, ubiquity and transparency of gpi and enabling them to grow and prosper in the new digital economy.

“Given the adoption of the Corda platform by trade ecosystems, it was a natural choice to run this proof of concept with R3.”

David E. Rutter, CEO of R3 said: “Following the recent launch of our Corda Settler, allowing for the payment of obligations raised on the Corda platform, it was a logical extension to plug into SWIFT gpi.

“SWIFT gpi has rapidly become the new standard to settle payments right across the world. All the blockchain applications running on Corda will thus benefit from the fast, secure and transparent settlement provided through the SWIFT gpi banks.”